Three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba will make her Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run debut when she competes over the half marathon distance in Glasgow next month.

Arguably the greatest female distance runner of all time, Dibaba added to her Olympic medal haul in Rio this summer by taking bronze in the 10,000m, and most recently finished third in last Sunday's Great North Run between Newcastle and South Shields.

Dibaba’s three Olympic gold medals came in 2008 where she won both the 10,000m and the 5,000m, and in 2012 when she triumphed over the 10,000m in London.

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The five-time world champion and world record holder over 5,000m and fourth fastest 10,000m runner of all time, nicknamed the Baby-Faced Destroyer, will return to Scotland for the first time since 2010 when she competed in the Great Edinburgh XC, while the Ethiopian also won the World XC Championships in the city in 2008.

She goes up against Betsy Saina, who finished fifth in the Olympic 10,000m. The 28-year-old Kenyan won the Great Manchester Run in 2015, with Dibaba taking victory in the same event this year to mark her return to road running after she took time off to give birth.

Councillor Archie Graham OBE, Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “We’re really excited to welcome Tirunesh to our city. The Great Scottish Run is a real highlight on Glasgow’s sporting calendar, and it’ll be fantastic to see an Olympic champion taking part in this brilliant event.”

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Taking place on Sunday, October 2, Scotland’s largest mass participation running event incorporates both a 10k and half marathon route that takes runners through some of Glasgow’s best known streets.

Starting at George Square in the heart of Glasgow, the course sees runners follow the iconic 10k and half marathon routes through the city before they enter Glasgow Green and reach the tree lined finish straight in the shadow of Nelson’s Monument, with the action captured live on BBC Television.

The day before the event, Saturday, October 1, also sees the popular Super Saturday returning to the city with a Toddler Dash, Family Mile and Junior Run.

Such is the popularity of the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run, the event enjoyed a record-breaking number of entries in 2015, with more than 30,000 people taking part across the weekend.

For more information on the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run visit the website here.

You can follow the event on Twitter @GreatScotRun using #greatscottishrun or on Facebook by searching Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run.